To Be The Greatest: Nathan Blacklock

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As the 2013 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series hits fever pitch, NRL.com looks back at some of the greatest moments in the history of post-regular season playoffs.

These are some of the great action snapshots that have made the NRL Finals so memorable, with each and every one etched into Rugby League’s rich folklore.

Keep coming back as NRL.com takes a trip down memory lane to remember some of the greatest moments in NRL Finals.

The Melbourne Storm trailed raging favourites St George Illawarra 8-0 in the 1999 NRL Grand Final with 29 minutes played.

It was then that Storm halfback Brett Kimmorley put in a chip-and-chase, with the ball landing in no-man’s land near the 30-metre line.

Step up Nathan Blacklock.

With Kimmorley and fullback Robbie Ross bearing down on the ball, the Dragons’ fullback bravely attacked it at pace.

Seemingly on cue, the ball sat up into Blacklock’s chest and it appeared he had been fired out of a cannon as he burst straight past the oncoming Kimmorley and Ross and straight into the backfield. There was no-one in front of him and he raced 70 metres to score under the posts untouched.

It was a dramatic and breathless moment in the Grand Final that gave St George Illawarra a 14-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Blacklock and the Dragons, they would lose the game 20-18 with an infamous penalty try finish.

But no-one will ever forget Blacklock’s opportunistic Grand Final four-pointer.